Warriors: New Age
by KamiKitty
Summary: So many moons have passes since the war with blood clan, so many moons have passed since the cats resettled at the lake, and many moons have passed since they moved their home again. A lingering rumor follows an urban group of cats bearing weapons no warrior could ever dream of. Bloodclan is resurfacing, and they're more powerful than ever.
1. Prologue

Prologue:

The feline's eyes glistened as it gazed at the journey ahead of them. They had to leave or suffer a long bloody war.

Another cat padded up beside him, metal glistening against his pelt.

"Do you think they'll listen to us or will they choose blood over safety?" the new cat mewed in a deep tone.

"We don't have a choice. If they don't listen then they don't listen. For the sake of these lives we must warn them. The city was left before by Bloodclan. We must make that same journey."

"Swift, those cat's were treacherous and they died."

"They died because they were evil and foul-hearted. We are simply looking to survive. Whether we take the same path as them or not, we must find a place to settle away from humans, away from rogues and away from dogs."

"Are you sure? If the others don't-"

"I already said we don't have a choice."

"I'll start spreading the word," the cat said and slipped away, heading towards the edge of the building where he slowly crawled down the wall.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

Stealthpaw yawned as morning light shown through the brambles of the den. She stood and shook out her pelt before padding outside.

A bundle of fur toppled her over and she purred playfully and gently pushed the kit off of her.

"Streakkit, get back over here," MorningPelt scolded him. "I'm sorry Stealthpaw, he got away from me."

"Don't worry about it," she purred. "It's a good wake up call." She felt cheery despite the assesment that day. Maybe something was just blocking her nerves. The idea of soon becoming a Windclan Warrior just made her feel warm inside.

"I'm gonna be able to topple any Shadowclan fleabags that come into camp," Streakkit mewled while swatting at the air even as MorningPelt picked him up by the scruff.

"I'm sure you will in time," Stealthpaw touched her nose to the top of his head as a goodbye and made her way out of the camp.

Her paws slid on the slope and she settled down underneath the old maple tree where they trained.

Soon she heard Darkpelt padding up the slope and she stood up wondering if her own mentor was with him. He was alone.

"Stealthpaw," he greeted her. "Ready for your assesment today?" he asked.

She dipped her head respectfully at the battle scarred warrior. "I think so."

"Duskclaw will be here soon, and hopefully Featherpaw too."

The sun barely moved when the two of them came. Her and Featherpaw were taking an assessment together.

"Ready?" Duskclaw's husky voice asked. She stood and flexed her claws. "Alright, you two need to go and check for scents along the borders. Go hunting while you're at it."

Featherpaw nodded with her and they set off in different directions towards the borders.

Stealthpaw padded over the stones at the creek that flowed through the windy planes of the windclan territory. She could see all the way from one side of the border to the other from there. It was a bit of a down fall since the camp was stationed in between a few trees and some thick bushes which stuck up awkwardly against the v shaped dry river bed that caused the only change from the flat grassland.

There was no need to look for cats crossing the border and during the day they stationed warriors in the tree that could see just about all the borders so no clan would dare attack during the day but it was important to check for scents from the night before.

Her nose found a rabbit's scent trail and she carefully stalked it. When it was in view and just two tail lengths away from her, she circled around behind it. It was her skill. Where her name came from. Her claws hooked into it's side before it realized she was their and she sank her teeth into it's throat.

"Thank you," she breathed to it's spirit. It had given up it's life to sustain her clan.

A scuffling sound caught her. She hadn't seen or smelled anything until then except the distant twoleg place scent. She tilted her nose and wiffed it but found that it was just slightly stronger than normal which didn't show anything strange since the breeze was blowing from that direction. Still she put her nose to the ground and found a trail. It smelled like twoleg place but underneath that, she closed her eyes and focused. It definitely smelled like another cat.

An old story weasled into her head about the vicious Bloodclan that had warred the old forest. That was moons and moons ago though. Even before the lake. They were legends of warriors of old so there was no reason to apply that to the present.

Unsheathing her claws, she followed the scent and it got fresher until she stumbled upon an old fox den. She yowled a warning to her mentor that she knew had been watching her.

The pounding pawsteps told her he had heard.

"What is it?" Duskclaw asked her.

"There's rogues here." She flicked her tail to the fox den.

Duskclaw sniffed and concentrated on the scent. "There definitely are. That's a big den and I can smell at least ten different scents." He thought for a second. "Watch it and yowl if there's trouble. Stay hidden, I know you can and I'll round up some warriors to get rid of them."

She nodded and padded to above the entrance where she'd be able to see anyone who came out but they wouldn't be able to see her. She used her claws to comb the tall grass to cover her dark grey pelt. Her ears strained to listen to absolutely anything. After a while they had adjusted to the wind's howl around the den and could hear the steady breathing of resting cats.

She waited for Duskclaw and the other warriors but everyone was out on patrols or hunting so finding enough of them could take time...


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

The moon shown overhead and sent it's rays bouncing around the medicine cat's den, reflecting off the little pool of water. Leaftail gazed into it transfixed by the shifting lights and then found herself deep into the ancestor's presence.

A cat padded up to her, accompanied by another. They're pelts shimmers with stars and she let the awe show on her face.

"My name is Bluestar. I am an old Thunderclan warrior but this message concerns all the clans of the territories," her voice drifted and echoed off the specks of light that floated around them.

_Stars_, Leaftail knew.

"There is an old enemy that approaches with the scent of blood. Wounds of old may be torn open but there are others not to be confused with them. The cat's of silver, gold and bronze are not ill intentioned but those that they speak of, those that have followed them, are. Leaftail, you must not let them be come your enemies. They are the only ones that can protect you from Scourge's followers."

"Scourge? He died moons ago," Leafpool said.

"A cat's spirit does not always die with his body. If it did, I wouldn't be here. There are other cats warning the other clans but your clan has it's destiny threaded into these newcomers. Be careful, for as powerful as they are, they are not invincible in heart."

All of the sudden, Leaftail was snapped back into her own body and was gazing into the pool. She gasped and felt her body's numbness and shook out her pelt.

"Are you alright, Leaftail?" a familiar voice asked from behind her.

"Yes, Dawnstar. I'm fine but I fear..."

"What is it?" he nuzzled her neck comfortingly as she stood there, still gazing into the water.

"Bloodclan may have returned."

Dawnstar immediately pulled away with a panicked look in his eyes. "Does Starclan say so?" His voice shook.

"Yes, but there are others who are not our enemies. I do not understand what they mean. The cats of silver, gold and bronze are not our enemy, that's what they told me."

Dawnstar touched his nose to hers. "Don't worry. I'm sure it'll all get figured out eventually," he said and left her there in her own world of anxiety.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Swift was starting back towards the hole when he stopped and sniffed the air blowing over across the ridge. He suppressed a hiss. There were other cats around and they smelled like the land they were striding into. He knew there were others in the area but he hadn't wanted to be found by them. Carefully, he stepped up onto a stone he had used to climb down and he had every intention of climbing back up it the same way.

The scent was fresh. Extremely fresh and he looked around but saw nor heard anything. His claws gripped the unfamiliar dirt and he quickly slipped down into the darkness. The cat's that had come with him were few in number but they could defend against a band of rogues or a couple dogs if need be.

"Midnight," he whispered. Most of them were resting and he didn't want to take that liberty from them. Days and days of endless travel had worn them out.

"What is it?" the she-cat padded up where he could see her in the partial light.

"We have to keep moving. I think the others in the area found us," he told her quietly.

"Swift, the mothers need their rest and the kits can't go on much longer like this. The rogues are behind us for now, these new cats won't recognize our scent. This entire place reeks of the city and we do too. We're fine where we are."

"Alright, but make sure we have at least three of our strongest ready to fight, full armor. I don't want to lose any of us in a fight." He turned and walked back out of the den and put his nose to the ground, looking for food. That scent of the cat was right there but he couldn't locate it. His tail lashed frustrated and started trotting around, searching for the orgin of that scent.

He swung his nose up and smelled there too. His teeth nashed together when he realized there was a thick, almost pungeant cat scent that was blowing from the slightly higher parts of the grass lands. They needed to move but they also needed rest. He went to stand guard above the hole his friends slept in. His foot landed on something warm and furry. He leapt back snarling and raised the fur on every inch of his body, feeling the unusual sensation of it being open to the air for a fight.

A scuffling came from a snarl of grass and a young cat, barely younger than him, scrambled out from underneath it. A she-cat with dark, splotched fur ranging from a mid grey color to the blackest black of any fur he'd ever seen. She yowled a warning to someone and faced him. Swift heard a scuffle from inside the den and Flame streaked to his side, snarling. He had on most of the plates of metal that mad eup his armor. He started to lash out at the young cat who got an astonished look in her eye at the shiny pieces that were hanging onto Flame, causing his ginger pelt to stick out between them in clumps.

Swift knocked Flame back and he tumbled into the depression the hole made.

"The pigeonscat is wrong with you?" Flame hissed at him.

"Shut your mouth, Flame. There's no need to attack every little kit you see," he snapped back.

The young cat in front of him started to collapse, her legs giving way.

"Hey," Swift rushed up to her and tried to help support her.

Flame scrambled back out of the hole and shook dirt off the spines of his armor that ran down his back. He was standing on guard.

"What are you doing?" he spat at him.

"She can't deal with a real fight you moron." Swift pushed him away with a splayed paw.

"You two," an older voice snapped at the two of them. "What is going on?"

"This cat is too young to handle a real fight, and it's a she-cat but Flame wants to shred her pelt off," Swift explained to the older tom, Pane. He had walked out of the hole too but he lacked any armor.

"There is no reason to shred her pelt off, Flame. Swift, get away from her though." He pushed bothof them back towards the entrance to the hole. They both slipped and tumbled over the edge. Flame let himself roll right to the entrance while Swift dug his claws into the earth so he didn't get impaled by that golden armor of Flame's. After he heard Flame settled down he let go and landed on all fours easily.

Pane's muffled voice drifted from the entrance but they knew there was no point in eaves dropping. The kit had been too scared to respond to them and an older cat would be even worse.

Still he had been transfixed by those perfectly crystal clear blue eyes she had. He thought about his own. They were silver. He turned back and slipped deeper into the hole and grabbed the plates of his armor in his teeth.

Midnight came up to him right away and started helping him pull it on with teeth and claws. The pieces of human pelt had been carefully chewed through and braided together to make a strap. Every cat wondered what was wrong with them. They just peeled their pelts off and through them out into the streets, just to pull a different colored one on. It was like all of their trash, thrown out and left to scavengers. It was shaky as to who figured out some of it could be melted down in the heat of fire and turned into armor but it had happened.

Midnight used her teeth to loop the last strap around his underside and he shook his pelt out feeling the familiar weight against his fur. If it cam to a fight then he'd be ready. He flexed his claws that were covered by more metal and made them big and wicked sharp. Everytime he saw them he remembered the legends of Bloodclan. They had used dog claws over their own. Were his friends and family any different from them?


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Stealthpaw shook. The cat in front of her was big and powerful. The cat from before had been better. He hadnt seemed so big but then the other cat. The golden cat was something from a nightmare. She still had those glistening spikes that could tear her to shreds engraved in her head.

"Young one, we mean no harm. We wish only to rest," he said.

Her eyes blinked at his accent. It was different, using more of the back of the throat than the clans.

"What?" she said. Her head still wouldn't drop those spines of gold.

"Are you okay, kitten? I won't hurt you," he said. He looked her over.

"I'm no kitten. I'm almost a warrior. This was going to be my last day as an apprentice," she spat. He mind finally started to work. The image was still there but it was letting words flow around it.

"You? You're a she cat who's barely off her mother's milk. You cannot fight," he said. His face showed confusion.

Stealthpaw unsheathed her claws. "You wanna bet, rogue?" she snarled.

He blinked then said, "If you want to, I'll accept you're challenge." He mimicked her and then she darted into the grass, seemingly vanishing.

The grass provided enough shelter from the wind that her scent didn't get picked up and the same wing covered the sound of her pawsteps. She moved around in the grass and peered through a couple of the pieces at the cat. He was standing perfectly still like he was just relaxing. She noticed her ears were constantly shifting to hear from different directions and then he turned around straight at her. She slipped back into the grass but he was tracking her. He leaped at where she was and she leaped out of the way landing on just her hind paws before leaping on top of him. He rolled as she latched her claws into his side. She hung on for two seconds before his roll flung her off.

"You know nothing of fighting she-kit. Females aren't meant to fight so why do you insist on doing it?" he spat at her and pinned her down on the ground. Her belly was exposed and she tried twisting to get him off of her.

He was a rogue which meant he didn't follow the same rules as the clan cats. He didn't even know the Warrior code.

"Pane, there's trouble," another accented voice said from behind the two of them.

"What?" the cat on top of her immediately took off towards the fox den.

She rolled over and stood up, shaking worse than before.

"It's one of the kits, they're sick or something," it was a female voice.

Stealthpaw knew the warrior code by heart. A kit in trouble, no matter where it came from, had to be taken care of. She walked up behind the older cat.

When they got back to the den's entrance she saw the mewling kit coughing and shaking violently. She took a few quick steps towards it already recognizing it. She sniffed it. The same smell as what had killed her sister what felt like ages ago was lingering on the little thing's lips.

"Deathberries," she hissed. The mother of the kit gave her a warning lash with her paw but Stealthpaw was already turning to get help.

She ran through the grass and remembered Duskclaw bringing warriors to chase them away. She skidded to a halt and put her nose to the ground to find his scent. He would have gone the same direction she had. There! She dashed after it and bumped into him from behind.

He turned. "Stealthpaw, I thought I told you to watch those rogues."

"No time," she panted. "You can bring the warriors and be ready for a fight but there's a kit in trouble." She took another deep breath. "I have to get Leaftail right now." With that, she dashed off towards the camp and tor through the brambly bushes before skidding into the medicine den.

"Stealthpaw? What's wrong?" she asked.

"A kit from some rogues," she took a deep breath yet again. "ate deathberries. You have to help them, please. It's just a kit and they don't seem like horrible cats." She had completely forgotten about the fight or those golden spikes on the other cat. All she remembered of them was the one that had pushed the golden spiked one down before it could hurt her.

"Right," Leaftail said and disappeared into the den coming back out with a green, stringy looking plant. Something she hadn't had when her sister... "Show me," Leaftail interrupted her thoughts.

She took off at a full dash. A kit could so easily die from those cursed berries. She'd seen it happen before and they were used back when Bloodclan tried to take over the forest. A kit almost died then too.

Leaftail kept hot on her tail and followed her straight to the fox-den.

The rogues looked up at them and she saw Duskclaw talking with one of them quickly. Leaftail saw the kit immediately and padded up to it. She hesitated while it's mother looked her over and then she let Leaftail get close. The medicine cat immediatly started chewing the yarrow before looking at the kit and spitting it onto her paw.

"Do you want to grow up big and strong?" she asked it.

Stealthpaw walked closer.

The kit mewled weakly in response to Leaftail's question.

"Then eat this, it'll make you feel better." Leaftail held her hand out to the kit who mewled again before quickly swallowing it. It layed down, shaking before growing still.

All of the sudden it retched and vomited onto the ground.

"Go get water, Stealthpaw," Leaftail snapped at her.

She obeyed without question and jetted off once again. By the time she got back with a bundle of moss dripping onto her chest fur, the rogues had settled down. There were four of them. The mother, the kit, the older one that had fought with her, and a young one. She froze and dropped the moss. It had those spikes too. She looked it over. Those spikes were attached to it where it had shiny pieces of skin. She blinked. No, it had twoleg rubish tied to it with more twoleg rubbish. It made more sense now but it still made every piece of her fur stand on end. She snatched the bundle of moss back from the ground and brought it to Leaftail.

The medicine cat took it from her and held it to the kit who lapped at the water dripping from it. It looked better and would recover.

Relief flooded through Stealthpaw and she went ahead and layed down right there.


End file.
